Pop princess Britney Spears seems keen to emulate Abba’s success on Broadway and the West End as she muses over the option of an ambitious new theatre project. The American star is known to be a massive fan of musicals and her impressive back catalogue of chart hits could provide the raw ingredients to match Mamma Mia’s global hit show.
Currently starring in Las Vegas’ show
Britney is believed to be considering using her own hit songs and formatting them into a musical package, with initial talks thought to be progressing along those lines. The busy 35-year-old is looking ahead to next year, after the conclusion of her latest stint at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas with the ‘Piece Of Me’ residency show.
It seems that she is eager to continue working live, so the possibility of future theatre dates seems likely to excite her.
Impressive catalogue of hits
After two decades of producing chart-toppers, the multi-talented singer, actress and dancer has all the celebrity attributes at her fingertips. Manager Larry Rudolph certainly thinks so and is understood to have begun negotiations to make the theatre dreams a reality. Fans would no doubt be intrigued by a Britney stage musical, drawing on the likes of ‘Baby One More Time’, ‘Toxic’, ‘Born to Make You Happy’ and ‘Oops!...I Did It Again’.
Mamma Mia’s global success
Since Mamma Mia! The Musical was launched in 1999, more than 60 million people have flocked to enjoy the musical excellence provided by Abba hits such as ‘Dancing Queen’, ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’, ‘Take a Chance on Me’ and of course the title track.
With gross figures at the box office estimated at a cool $2 billion based on global takings, it’s easy to see the attraction for Britney.
Mamma Mia proved to be a ratings winner on screen as well, as a film adaptation featuring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth pulled in fans on its 2008 release, off the back of the show’s tremendous theatre success.
Long runs on West End and Broadway
The theatre show’s statistics make for impressive reading. By 2016, the West End production in London had become the eighth longest running-show in the West End’s history. Its Broadway incarnation wasn’t far behind, running for 14 years up to its finale in September 2015.
With the recent popularity of the film La La Land – featuring the dreamy pairing of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone – not to mention Lady Gaga’s involvement on a new version of ‘A Star Is Born’, musical films and shows are back at the forefront of showbiz thinking, and few would back against Britney’s potential to succeed with her own plans.